Chromatic Scale - What is it?
This music theory lesson explains what a chromatic scale is, how you notate chromatic scales and some examples of pieces of music.
More detail can be found at:
https://www.musictheoryacademy.com/un...
Each of the notes of a chromatic scale is separated from adjacent notes by a semitone or half step. The scale can start on any note and can be ascending and descending.
A chromatic scale can begin on any note.
Standard notation dictates that accidentals on the notes of the ascending scale are written in sharps, whilst those on the descending scale are written in flats. However, there are exceptions to this depending on the context of the key signature a piece of music is written in.
Composers use chromatic scales to evoke sadness or tension in a piece of music. The video gives a couple of examples - one is from Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumble Bee" in which very fast chromatic passages give the "feel" of a flying bee. The other example if from the Sonata in D minor by Beethoven.